The combined effects of false seedbed technique, post-emergence chemical control and cultivar on weed management and yield of barley in Greece

In Greece, false seedbed is a subsidized weed management practice in rice crops and its effects on winter cereals also need to be evaluated. In the field of Agricultural University of Athens, the effects of false seedbed technique, post-emergence chemical control and cultivar selection on weed management and yield of two barley cultivars, Zhana and Grace, were studied (2017–2019). The experimental treatments were: direct sowing, direct sowing followed by post-emergence chemical control, false seedbed and false seedbed followed by post-emergence chemical control. Pinoxaden at a rate of 45 g a.i./ha was applied for the control of grass weeds and a mixture of florasulam (3.75 g a.i./ha) and clopyralid (45 g a.i./ha) was applied for the control of broadleaf weeds. The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. The results revealed that dry weight of important weed species such as Phalaris minor and Lolium rigidum were 75–85% and 31–55% lower in plots where false seedbed was applied as compared to the plots where direct sowing was performed. The dry weight of L. rigidum plants was also reduced by 29–43% under false seedbed as compared to the combination of direct sowing and post-emergence chemical control. False seedbed along with herbicide application reduced Avena sterilis biomass by 77–93% in comparison with the combination of direct sowing and herbicide use. Dry weight of A. sterilis plants grown in competition with Zhana cultivar was by approximately 16% lower compared to that of the plants grown in the presence of Grace cultivar during both the experimental years. The effect of treatment and cultivar selection on grain yield was statistically significant during both the years. False seedbed along with herbicide use increased grain yield by 23–36 and 9–20% compared to direct sowing along with post-emergence chemical control and single false seedbed without herbicide use, respectively. In general, Zhana was by 22–29% more productive than Grace cultivar. Further research is needed in order to optimize the false seedbed technique and evaluate whether the combination of false seedbed, chemical weed control and competitive cultivars selection can enhance weed management in various crops under different soil and climatic conditions and result in higher crop yields.